IE 8 Cannot Browse to Windows Update

My IE 8 is set to go to Microsoft Update as Homepage, but, since shortly
before Patch Tuesday last week, it cannot get there.

IE 8 displays, first thing on starting, the page with message about
downloading the latest Windows updater. This page says to click on the
"Internet Explorer Information Bar" that is said to be seen "just below the
Adress Bar." But, my IE 8 doesn't show me the Information Bar. And, anyway,
something last month put my Menu Bar under my Address Bar. The Address bar is
now on top, with the Menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc.) below the address bar.

Info - In View>Toolbars, I have checked only Menu bar and Status bar, and
I have not locked the Toolbars. And, Information Bar is not offered in this
Toolbars list.

In following the proffered link to "take these steps to solve the
problem,: the list of steps demands to know what error code I had, which
error of the several listed. But IE8 didn't display an error code! It just
stuck itself upon the halfway-there page
at http://update.microsoft.com/microsof....aspx?ln=en-us .

Upshot is, I cannot get to Download the latest Windows Updater, and so I
cannot get past this IE 8 page, to move into Microsoft Update to make it
happen. I'm kind of, halfway there, but in the immortal words of Senator
Robert Byrd, D-WV, "This is wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"

I need to be able to find out whether I have all the latest patches from
last Tuesday. I tried to install all eleven (11) and would like to know if
they all "took."

Has anybody else had this problem?

Hi, again,

My bad manners - please excuse a few times - should have given the
standard info:

IE 8.0 .6001.18702 Update Versions: 0 This info is from Help>About.
Also, I have added all the microsoft.com websites in Trusted zone sites
list. And update.microsoft.com has been added as a Trusted site in firewall.

Firefox v3.5.2 can reach the website but of course, the Microsoft® website
refuses to deal with Firefox.

OS: Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 plus updates since SP3
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 519J 3.06 GHz
RAM: 2 GB PC3200 DDR2
HD: 155GB free
ISP: ATT.net Internet connection via: ATT.net and Westell 6100 DSL modem
+ Zone Alarm free 8.0.298.000
+ AVG Free 8.5 Scans every night and updates 3x/day, typically. Finds
tracking cookies occasionally.
+ Windows Defender updated August 17, 2009. Full system scan was run last
night, nothing found.

[Crosspost to IE General newsgroup. Please quote this entire post in your
reply.]

Is Automatic Updates enabled?

Any chance you installed AVG Free v8.5 and/or ZA and/or IE8 "shortly before
Patch Tuesday last week"?

How to troubleshoot Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and Windows Server
Update Services installation issues:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906602

Any errors or anything unusual in your WindowsUpdate.log
(%windir%\WindowsUpdate.log)?

How to read the WindowsUpdate.log file
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902093

--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002
www.banthecheck.com


basketx38 wrote:
> Hi, again,
>
> My bad manners - please excuse a few times - should have given the
> standard info:
>
> IE 8.0 .6001.18702 Update Versions: 0 This info is from Help>About.
> Also, I have added all the microsoft.com websites in Trusted zone sites
> list. And update.microsoft.com has been added as a Trusted site in
> firewall.
>
> Firefox v3.5.2 can reach the website but of course, the Microsoft®
> website
> refuses to deal with Firefox.
>
> OS: Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 plus updates since SP3
> CPU: Intel Pentium 4 519J 3.06 GHz
> RAM: 2 GB PC3200 DDR2
> HD: 155GB free
> ISP: ATT.net Internet connection via: ATT.net and Westell 6100 DSL
> modem
> + Zone Alarm free 8.0.298.000
> + AVG Free 8.5 Scans every night and updates 3x/day, typically. Finds
> tracking cookies occasionally.
> + Windows Defender updated August 17, 2009. Full system scan was run last
> night, nothing found.
>
<paste>
> My IE 8 is set to go to Microsoft Update as Homepage, but, since shortly
> before Patch Tuesday last week, it cannot get there.
>
> IE 8 displays, first thing on starting, the page with message about
> downloading the latest Windows updater. This page says to click on the
> "Internet Explorer Information Bar" that is said to be seen "just below
> the
> Adress Bar." But, my IE 8 doesn't show me the Information Bar. And,
> anyway,
> something last month put my Menu Bar under my Address Bar. The Address bar
> is now on top, with the Menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc.) below the
> address
> bar.
>
> Info - In View>Toolbars, I have checked only Menu bar and Status bar,
> and
> I have not locked the Toolbars. And, Information Bar is not offered in
> this
> Toolbars list.
>
> In following the proffered link to "take these steps to solve the
> problem,: the list of steps demands to know what error code I had, which
> error of the several listed. But IE8 didn't display an error code! It just
> stuck itself upon the halfway-there page
> at http://update.microsoft.com/microsof....aspx?ln=en-us .
>
> Upshot is, I cannot get to Download the latest Windows Updater, and so I
> cannot get past this IE 8 page, to move into Microsoft Update to make it
> happen. I'm kind of, halfway there, but in the immortal words of Senator
> Robert Byrd, D-WV, "This is wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"
>
> I need to be able to find out whether I have all the latest patches from
> last Tuesday. I tried to install all eleven (11) and would like to know if
> they all "took."